Primeval: Primal Fate
by Megazord Master
Summary: Set after the 1st season finale. Nick finds himself in another world where anomalies are the least of his worries. Seasons 2 - 3 retelling with a difference
1. Primal Question

Disclaimer: Primeval isn't mine. It belongs to ITV and the BBC. Power Rangers belongs to Saban. Takes place directly after Nick meets Jenny and a few months after Crown and Punishment.

Primal Fate

1. Primal Question

He sighed to himself again. How could it be that the person he longed for – that he loved – had vanished from existence? How could it also be possible that the disappearance of a single person could cause major repercussions in the time line? It just didn't make sense. As far as he could remember, the Future Predator had been killed – presumably eaten – by the Gorgonopsid in the Permian. Why then did he return to a radically changed world?

Professor Nick Cutter ran through the mental images one more time. He knew that the Future Predator had been soundly dealt with – and that Tom Ryan was dead. The skeleton that they had seen on their first trip to the past had been Ryan's…but that thought brought up a lot of different paradoxes and theories of alternate realities and timelines. He would have scoffed at the last one…if he wasn't where he was. For all he knew, he was in a different world with a different office, different people and no Claudia. He hadn't even had time to scrutinise the differences – the raptors in the shopping mall had thrown him back into his "Indiana Jones" mode. He had kind of cleared the air with Stephen – but even doing that brought up one or two issues. Issues that dealt with his true reality and what might or might not have happened there. Anyway – he didn't want to think about it. He had other issues to worry about.

Two hours ago – after he had briefly rested and talked to Connor – he had come face to face with a version of Claudia. One called Jenny Lewis…and he was sure he'd made an ass of himself in the process. Lester had told Jenny that he was suffering some sort of "post traumatic stress-related amnesia" – something that he'd heard only once before. In a way, it was true – he _was_ suffering from some sort of post-traumatic stress, but he knew who he was and what he was supposed to be doing. He sighed again and ran a hand through his light brown hair. He knew he had to pull himself together, but that was surprisingly hard to do with a total amount of three hours sleep. Adrenaline was pumping through his body and it was keeping him awake – which would have been a good thing if he had something to hunt. Now, it was just plain irritating.

He looked around at his surroundings and bit back yet another sigh. He had looked up what had happened to his house in this timeline – only to find out that it had been sold off a few months ago. When he looked into the sale records – he found out that it had been himself who had sold off the house. Well – not himself but the Nick Cutter that was native to the time. He squeezed his eyes shut and forcefully willed thoughts of parallel universes out of his mind. It was like something out of a bad dream – but at least he had a bed to sleep on…even if said bed was property of the Anomaly Research Centre. He opened his eyes again and exhaled heavily – looking at his room. It was no bigger than a large walk-in closet, but still managed to hold enough space for a double bed, a small bedside table, an iMac, a bar fridge and an intercom/telephone. Surprisingly enough there was no television, but he had asked for a newspaper to read. Granted, it was a few months old – but it was better than nothing. He swung his legs off the bed and reached for the newspaper on the table. He was surprised the thick paper had even stayed on there – despite the force he used to fling it down. He wanted to know more about this new timeline and what else had changed.

As his eyes skimmed over the front page, he felt disbelief overtake him. There was a full colour picture of six brightly coloured figures holding a crown of some sort. He could easily see that the costumes were not made of cloth – but of something that looked a lot like spandex. The six figures were all colour coded – Red, Blue, Black, Yellow, Pink and Silver. He blinked again and let out a slightly forced laugh. No way. There was no way that something so fictional would be real – no matter what the timeline. He remembered talking to Connor earlier – about his unique situation and recalled what the young man had said.

"_I mean, it's not all Power Rangers and wormholes – your situation is sexy stuff!"_

No – it wasn't possible. Nick knew that it was probably a promotional shot of a new series or something. It was all so unreal – but then again, he was someone who literally travelled through anomalies on a weekly basis. No, Connor was probably talking about the TV show – something the Connor in the original timeline had done on and off. There was something about the headline though…even if it was a new show or a new season – it wouldn't have sounded so…triumphant. His eyes skimmed the headline again – soaking up every word.

OVERDRIVE RANGERS FOIL EVIL AGAIN!

Nick sighed again and replaced the paper. He was in a world where the Power Rangers were apparently non-fiction and where Claudia Brown was nowhere to be found. He let out a sigh and closed his eyes again. As he drifted off into an uneasy sleep, one last thought crept into his mind.

_God…even for me this is messed up._

TBC…


	2. Ancient History

AN: And we're back…finally. Minor spoilers for later Ultra Crystals works. Enjoy!

2. Ancient History

Nick stared at the paper again; this time squinting.

The words were still there proclaiming the impossible. The Power Rangers had defeated the evils threatening the globe and had apparently retired. The report skimmed over the countless exploits of the Operation Overdrive campaign and had made various references to the various Ranger teams stationed all over the world. From strange ninjas in Blue Bay Harbour to dinosaur robots in Reefside; even monsters being beaten back by the 'Elemental Dragon Rangers' in Sydney! He heard a soft knock on the door and grunted in response. The door opened to reveal Stephen's concerned face.

"Hey, uh, how are you feeling?"

Waving him in, Nick closed the newspaper and sank back into the chair. He closed his eyes as he heard Stephen sit down and blew out a long breath. He was not looking forward to rehashing the information with Stephen, but his friend had volunteered to brainstorm about the anomalies. Connor and Abby were off doing…something or other and if he looked at any more reports on what he was _sure_ was a badly acted kid's show being real…he would scream out loud. He opened his mouth to speak but his friend beat him to the punch.

"I haven't seen Helen since then. Before…you know what I mean. It's in the past for both of us. Anyway; if she was going to drop in on me, I would have to turn her away. My niece Kimberley is coming for a holiday. She should be coming into the ARC in around fifteen minutes. Her husband will be coming a bit later but they'll be in a hotel by then."

Nick sat up and creased his brow. From what he recalled, Stephen's niece wasn't old enough to fly unsupervised – let alone be married. He had heard that she had been accepted into the Pan Global Training camp but the games were still a ways off…weren't they? He let out a low groan and squeezed his temples as he realised the new world had a lot more surprises in store for him.

"Your niece…the last I knew of her; she had been accepted into the Pan Global Training camp. This new timeline…everything is so different. You can't imagine the changes I'm having to…I'm babbling. You think I'm crazy and…ah, I don't know anymore."

Stephen eyed his friend warily. He was starting to realise that there were subtle changes in the man in front of him and had allowed the idea of a ripple in time to flit across him mind for the barest of seconds. It just didn't add up though. From the press release the Silver Guardians had sent out, time ripples affected everyone except those with a specially created device called a Power Morpher. Seeing as both Nick and Helen didn't have Morphers, their memories would have been changed – even if they were at the epicentre of the change. He would have to have another chat with Kim's husband about the effects of time travel and alternate dimensions. It had been pure chance a few years ago that he had found out that his niece's husband was involved with the Power Rangers. He had accidentally overheard a conversation involving some sort of Battle Group and Zord blueprints. If the reports coming in from deep space were to be believed, the fruits of that conversation were becoming ripe.

"No, it's quite all right. I don't know what happened in…where you came from but everything you see, we've had for years. We haven't talked about it much. Do you want a history lesson? I'll make it as quick as I can."

Nick nodded once and relaxed in his chair. An anomaly could pop up at any time but of these so-called Power Rangers were in the business of protecting the public, they would come running. Why they hadn't come before was a mystery to him but he was sure they had their reasons. As Stephen began speaking, he became more and more entranced by the differences.

"Around late 1996, there was a manned mission to the Moon; the first in decades. NASA wanted to see what had changed and if there was any chance that life was present. The two astronauts found and, against the direct orders of their superiors, opened what they said was a 'giant space dumpster'. The dumpster contained an evil witch named Rita Repulsa along with her crew of aliens. I am not making this up. They set their sights on Earth to conquer or destroy it. A few hours later, their first attack was thwarted by five heroes in brightly coloured spandex that called themselves 'Power Rangers'. Around a month later, Rita created an evil Ranger of her own and used it to attack the others. A few days after that, the Green Ranger joined the 'good guys'"

Nick nodded absently. So there had been a manned mission to investigate the object on the moon. In the original timeline, NASA had used robotic probes to transport it to the nearest black hole. Apparently there were some news reports about minor disturbances in deep space; but he had the anomalies and Helen keeping him busy to give them any major thought. He continued listening as his friend talked.

"After a few months of seeing the Green Ranger in battle, Rita kidnapped the entire town of Angel Grove to force the Rangers to surrender. The Rangers defeated her plot and every year since; the day is known as Doomsday and is a rather macabre public holiday. A few weeks after that, Rita was apparently overthrown by Lord Zedd; apparently her boss and the Rangers had to get a Power upgrade or something. The Green Ranger was stripped of his Powers and a new White Ranger showed up soon after. Then the Rangers were defeated twice in a row by the same monster. The monster was defeated by a new Orange Ranger that showed up in Sydney a day or so later. In the period of three months of attacks, the Orange Ranger gradually built up his team of Ultra Rangers and they defended Sydney for a few years. There were rumours of two other Rangers seen during this time; but they were unfounded."

Nick shook his head in shock. This wasn't just the Butterfly Effect in action, this turned chaos theory and all possibilities of Quantum Mechanics on its head. If he still was in the normal timeline, the Connor he was familiar with would have said it was 'the ripple effect of a tsunami' or something like that. A tsunami was correct…god, he was going to have to relearn everything again.

"So, the Power Rangers have defended the world from their enemies and the Ultra Rangers have fought off against the bigger bad in their area. It's gotten to the point where the Ultra Rangers aren't enough. Other teams under their 'banner' have sprung up; namely the Crystal Rangers and the Elemental Dragons. Meanwhile, in London, we try to deal with the anomalies as they appear and try to ensure nothing is made public. Did you get all of that?"

Nick squeezed his temples yet again and sighed. It seemed that the Future Predator had done more than just erase Claudia Brown and changed the timeline; it had somehow spawned an entirely different world that was far removed from normality. He would have to assign some time in the future to absorb everything in but for now…for now; he didn't know what to do. The alarms started blaring and he blinked out of his despondent stupor. Shooting to his feet, he exchanged a quick glance with Stephen and nodded once.

Power Ranger or not, he still had a job to do.

TBC…


	3. Power of Earth

AN: Gee, I wonder who appears in this chapter? Enjoy!

3. Power of Earth

Whatever it was, it was big.

Nick looked up from the footprints and eyes the team warily. Abby and Connor were off to one side talking quietly about trackings and periods; but were shooting nervous glances his way. He knew they were still fidgety around him and couldn't really blame them…but they had a job to do in ensuring whatever had come through didn't harm the civilians. Nodding to the soldiers stationed around the anomaly, Nick ran a hand through his hair and sighed.

"What do you think it is?"

He shrugged before doing a double take at the voice. It sounded older than what he was used to and had lost almost all of its 'Valley Girl' sound. Turning around, he found himself looking at a set of rich brown eyes that belonged to Stephen's niece, Kimberley. The girl – woman, he corrected himself – was wearing a loose pink and white sweater over a bright pink T-shirt and denim jeans. On her left wrist was a strange device that looked like a watch without a face and the pendant around her neck displayed a crane and falcon in flight.

"Kimberley? What are you doing here? Does your uncle know you're here?"

The woman in front of him nodded and Nick wondered how much of the picture he was missing. The soldiers around the anomaly didn't seem too worried about her wandering around and even passed notes and reports to her. A loud roar from the forest made Stephen – who had been about to set foot in it – start running back as both Connor and Abby abandoned their chat. Stephen holstered his pistol and nodded once at his niece.

"Nick, we're going to need the big guns. This isn't a sabre tooth we're dealing with. It's something…I don't know. Larger."

"Yeah, I…uh…don't really agree with Connor that often but these tracks are much larger than anything we've seen before. I'm thinking either Deinosuchus or Sarcosuchus. Not a mammal."

Nodding at Connor, Nick turned at an approaching SUV and groaned as the familiar face of Claudia Brown appeared through the windshield. No, it wasn't Claudia as she didn't exist in this timeline. It was the new PR representative, Jenny Lewis and the mousy-faced assistant of Lester's. What was his name? Oliver Leek…something about him just exuded trouble and malice. He would have to be watched like a hawk to ensure that he didn't get the wrong ideas with the anomalies. Shaking his head at the SUV, he turned around and motioned for two of the soldiers to come with him as he reached into the back of his truck to pull out a strangely futuristic tranquilizer gun.

"Kim, I want you to stay here where it's safe. Make sure Leek doesn't try something stupid like wander through. We'll need someone…"

A screaming roar from the forest cut off his words and Nick's eyes widened as he saw a very familiar face from the past run out of the trees. Like everything and everyone else in this new timeline, he knew it wasn't 'his' version of her as she was wearing a strange black jacket with pink highlights. They way she ducked, flipped and rolled under the trees was new for her as well; although he had always suspected the bookworm to have hidden athletic talents. Grabbing a tranquilizer pistol, he jogged towards the young woman and called out her name; hoping that it hadn't changed like everything else had.

"Rose!"

The young woman looked at him and beamed broadly but did a slight double-take at the sight of the other woman. Nick sighed and rolled his eyes as he wondered exactly how the two knew each other. Apart from their strange love of the colour pink and their athletic ability; he didn't see any other connections. Rose placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it lightly before looking around her in worry – as if looking for a missing companion. She walked over to Kim and the two ladies started talking to each other in hushed whispers. Growling slightly, Nick raised the tranquilizer pistol and slipped into the forest. The trees around him created shadows of strange beasts including one that looked uncannily like a large Sarcosuchus. Doing a double take of his own, he froze to the ground as the large beast stalked towards him. It opened its mouth and unleashed a loud bellowing roar that was very different to the earlier roar.

As it lunged towards him, he rolled out of the way and shot three darts into its soft and unarmoured belly. As the ancient beast succumbed to the tranquilizer, the forest around him came alive. Strange reptilian humanoids that bore striking resemblances to the hypothetical 'Dinosauroid' surrounded him and communicated to each other via a series of clicks and whistles. Without thinking, Nick brought up the tranquilizer pistol and shot the remaining two darts into the nearest creature. The creature collapsed bonelessly to the ground and they retaliated in kind. Avoiding most of the wild blows, Nick crouched to the ground and grabbed hold of the arm of the unconscious humanoid and ran back to the anomaly site. He tripped on an exposed root and fell on his face; groaning as he struggled to get back onto his feet. Falling over onto his back, his eyes widened in fear as the strange humanoid dinosaurs came closer and closer.

"Power of Earth!"

The strange shout was followed by the appearance of a strange figure clothed in black leather from right out of the ground. The strange figure quickly spin-kicked the curious creatures away and helped the Professor to his feet. His voice seemed very odd to Nick's ears…as if the figure underneath the mask was in a perpetual state of happiness and joy.

"Hold on and make sure that one doesn't wake up; I'll get us out of here."

TBC…


	4. Cryorex

4. Cryorex

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

A man dressed in leather had burst out of the ground and was now tearing into the strange Dinosauroid creatures. From the looks of it, he knew what he was doing and didn't really need that much help or assistance but all Nick could think of was trying to figure out how the man had survived under the ground. He had mostly accepted the fact that Power Rangers existed in this new and crazy timeline and that Claudia Brown was no more…but to see people shoot up out of nowhere and attack humanoid dinosaurs was a bit too much for him to handle. Drunkenly grabbing the limp wrist of the drugged humanoid, he ran in the direction he had come from; ignoring the twigs that scratched at his clothes and face.

"I would stop right there if I were you."

Coming up short, Nick looked at the…thing in front of him that had spoken in the growling voice. Whatever it was, it looked extremely similar to a humanoid Cryolophosaurus…except Cryolophosaurs didn't wear strangely futuristic armour or hold large broadswords. Come to think of it, dinosaurs couldn't talk in ways that could be recognised by human ears...and if they could; he doubted they would speak English. Tightening his grip on both his 'captive' and the empty tranquilizer pistol, he stood his ground as best as he could and tried to keep his nerves from showing.

"Who are you and what do you want?"

The monster in front of him barked a short burst of grating laughter and the professor considered his options. There was no way in Hell that he would let go of the drugged creature as he was sure that it could be used to deduce what the hell was going on. He could throw the pistol at the creature but he seriously doubted anything would have an effect on it – short of an atomic blast. He was seriously hoping that one of the Power Rangers happened to be in the area and could help him out…or even Stephen's niece and the 'wrong' Rose.

"My name is Cryorex and I am from a different future. One that has been long since erased but one that may come to pass in a different way; I will reshape this world to the way it should be and with my Raptrids by my side, I will be unbeatable!"

"What about the Power Rangers? They will stop you for sure."

Nick couldn't believe the words that were coming out of his mouth. Sure, he had seen things that couldn't readily be explained but to talk about them like they were socially acceptable was mind-boggling. It was almost like saying that there was a dimension out there that was populated by talking horses and other mythological creatures. It didn't make sense to his rational mind…but what was more disturbing was that he was beginning to accept it. He didn't think he had the qualities of a Power Ranger but he wasn't against becoming one if the chance was offered to him…which was something that was almost laughable.

"The Power Rangers cannot stop me from completing my plans. Everything they will do will eventually bring about an end to all they care about. They can't even stop me from doing this!"

As the last syllable fell from Cryorex's lips, Nick felt himself fly back as a mighty explosion consumed body of the drugged Raptrid. Weakly dragging himself to his feet, he felt something in his hand and looked down. Seeing the ripped off limb that was dripping blood, he almost let go of it before forcing himself to keep it within his grasp. In an act of sheer stupidity, Nick threw the pistol at the monster and turned to run – exposing his back to the monster. series

"Fool. You will perish just like the others."

Firing off a weak blast of energy at the human, he watched in satisfaction as the man fell to the ground as his body was paralysed. The effect would shortly wear off but he would do as he had been commanded. Nick Cutter was to die for the plan to have any chance at succeeding where the others had failed. These humans didn't know that true power that the so-called anomalies held within them. Life, death and time were all connected by the energy and if it were used in a more constructive way then all of the Universe could be theirs for the taking. Not only that…there could even be a way to open the closed door that led back to his own timeline. If he planned it just right; he would even be able to go back just before the massacre…and kill the replacement Knight.

Nick willed himself to move as his fingers spasmed around the severed limb. Monstrous creature from the future or not – he wouldn't allow anything to happen to the valued specimen he had. Thousands of questions were running through his mind and as he waited for the end to come; he wished he could see the smiling face of Claudia or Jenny or whatever she wanted to call herself in this reality…just one more time.

"Fire!"

Twin beams of pink energy suddenly streaked across his field of vision and struck the advancing creature in its chest. Staggering back, Cryorex bellowed loudly in anger and two strange figures flipped over the professor to stand in front of him. They were both clad in pink armour but that was the only similarity. The figure on the left had white diamonds on her chest, arms and boots as well as a helmet shaped like a swooping Pterodactyl. She held a pink and white bow in one hand and had the energy drawstring pulled back with the other. Her stance indicated she was adept in fighting long range – but could also fight on a one on one basis if needed.

The other figure's armour was mostly white but had pink on the arms, legs and the sides of her body. In her hands, she held a strange weapon that looked similar to a submarine of some kind. At her left hip was a weapon that looked like some sort of over-technological blaster that had a socket for something to attach onto it. As he stared at the two figures, they announced themselves; making him growl under his breath.

"Pink Morphin Ranger!"

"Overdrive Pink Ranger!"

Realizing he couldn't achieve his goal, he pointed to the prone figure on the ground and snarled out a message to him; the contents of which stunned everyone greatly.

"This isn't over, Professor Cutter! I will return!"

TBC…


	5. KT Boundary

AN: Short chapter to act as a coda to the shock of seeing monsters…that don't come from anomalies.

5. KT Boundary

"What the Hell was that?"

The two Rangers looked at him impassively before shifting their attention to the severed limb he held in one hand. From another part of the forest came Stephen, Connor and Abby; the latter two were dragging the drugged Sarcosuchus that had somehow been captured in a net of some kind. They stopped short at the sight of the two Pink Rangers in front of them…but the tension was broken by a figure flying from the direction the professor had just come from. Nick could see the figure's uniform was covered in scratches, tears and rips and briefly wondered what the so-called Raptrids had done. As the man lifted his head up, his eyes zeroed in on the two Pink Rangers and he offered a weak wave.

"Didn't know the two of you would be here."

The Pink Ranger with the dinosaur-themed helmet gave the impression she was rolling her eyes and lifted her bow in the direction the man had been flung from. Muttering something under her breath, she rapidly shot several energy arrows into the forest and – judging from the short cried of pain – destroyed the remaining Raptrids. In a swift motion, she pulled the octagonal device off her belt and was enveloped in a bright glow. When it subsided, Nick found himself being checked all over by a slightly ticked off Kimberly. Stephen shook his head slowly and ran a hand through his hair as he realised things had become that little bit more complicated. From the shout earlier, he knew that Nick had somewhat accepted the idea of Power Rangers existing but to be slammed with the knowledge that the Rangers weren't aliens would be…well; he didn't know. Glancing at Connor, he opened his mouth to say something to the eccentric student…when the student rushed to the leather-clad man on the ground in surprise.

"Dustin Brooks, I don't believe it! What're you doin' here?"

The young man stood up on his feet and shot a thankful look at Kim before removing the hood and mouth-guard from his face. Nick could see that he hadn't been wrong upon thinking that the man was full of joy as a wide smile broke across his face upon seeing the student in front of him. Almost on instinct, his hands moved to a strange position and he bowed slightly at Connor – a bow that was reciprocated. A few seconds after the bow had ended; the man in yellow threw his arm around Connor's shoulders in a friendly hug. Suddenly remembering that there were people around him that didn't know who he was, the young man broke away from Connor and nodded respectfully at Nick and extended his left hand. His voice adopted a slightly more serious tone than before; although there was still an undercurrent of hyperactivity to it.

"My name is Dustin Brooks and I am the Earth Sensei of the Wind Ninja Academy in Blue Bay Harbour."

Taking the offered hand, Nick shook it once and slightly shook his head. From what little he knew about the Blue Bay Harbour area, there was no Ninja School or any need for one to be present. Then again; he was basing his knowledge off what he had read in the original timeline and that wouldn't be useful here. If he were to compare his situation with an event in prehistory; he would say that he was at the KT boundary and was immersing himself in a new environment which was similar, yet wholly different from what he had seen in the past. In an instant, the events of the past few minutes finally began to catch up with him and he felt himself collapse to the ground. He could hear Dustin, Kim and Stephen's voices as they rushed to his side…but all he could think about was a line from The Tempest that perfectly described his situation.

"O brave new world that has such people in it!"

TBC…


	6. Future Revisited

AN: And the infamous Bad Future (Chapters 51 – 54 of The Ultra Crystals) is 'revisited' once more. Yes, I kept Leek as an antagonist (as I couldn't see him as a minor protagonist). Reminder, this story is set in The Ultra Crystals universe, but reading of that story isn't really needed.

6. Future Revisited

"Why didn't you kill him?"

Helen Cutter stalked over to the figure in front of her in a rage. She had drilled the instructions into the brain of the creature that Nick had to die upon his next outing. The creature had even confirmed that he would do her bidding and kill her husband before her plan could fully be put into action. She had even stooped to the lowest of the low and recruited her mole using her feminine powers but that had all been for naught as the mole had joined willingly after seeing her servant in action. All the pieces were in place and even if one piece was obliterated, she would easily seduce the millionaire with dreams of power and a promise to be king of the New World.

"He stated otherwise. As it stood, he was protected by two Power Rangers with an Earth Ninja close by. I would have been destroyed, even with the Raptrids at my command."

Snorting in anger, Helen walked over to one of the windows overlooking the Raptrid Breeding Grounds and wished she had discovered everything earlier. Coming through the anomaly, she had instantly known that she was entering another new world as there had been subtle differences her ex-husband hadn't picked up on. Evading capture from the ARC soldiers had been mere child's play and she had even made it onto an international airline within hours. Amusingly, it seemed in this world the Concorde crash had never happened and continual design upgrades had meant it had become the main airplane of choice. Of course, the Boeing 777 model airplanes were still in use but the rumoured 'Dreamliner' project had yet to see the light of day. The airline had been bound for the small airport on the outskirts of Angel Grove in California and had taken just under five hours.

As she had no living arrangements in Angel Grove, she had wandered the foothills for a few hours before something had literally appeared in front of her. Unsheathing her knife in case it was a hostile being, she had watched in amazement as a strange dinosaur-like creature had dropped through a strange portal and had landed on its feet. Seeing her in front of it, it had inquired about the year and its location before seizing up suddenly after stating its name. Acting on impulse, she had dragged the creature that had called itself Cryorex to a nearby cave and had waited patiently for her new 'friend' to wake. Eventually, it did seem to reactivate itself but had a much different personality to what had been there before. It seemed crueller and less stable and had instantly struck up a bargain with her; the World for the life of the Orange Ranger. Not knowing who or what the Orange Ranger was, she had immediately accepted the offer and – after a bright burst of light – had found herself in some sort of building complex. There, Cryorex had explained his history…or at least what he could still remember of it.

He had stated that he came from a world that had been overtaken by evil for a very long time and that the ravages of time and space had transformed Earth into nothing more than a floating brothel. Although the Future Predators still roamed the lands, they were seen as minor annoyances by the various beings that visited the planet. The rumour of the Orange Knight saving the world was commonplace; but there were many who thought it was all a lie. Several self-taught geneticists had created him using ages-old DNA found in newly discovered dinosaur fossils and captured Future Predators and had brought him to life in a hidden bunker miles below the surface. They had to almost stop the project several once due to strange sounds that could be heard on the only intercom leading to the surface. The sounds hadn't made sense and those left on the surface had been screaming about the return of the Orange Knight…or something like that. Relieved screams and sighs had soon followed but the scientists weren't ones to pack up everything and leave on fanatical screeches and sounds that could have been anything.

Soon, he was activated and his mission was told to him. Cryorex didn't know what it was…but it had been integral to the survival of the human race in the future. It had something to do with the Orange Ranger and his knights…but he had been unceremoniously pushed through a newly opened anomaly before he could receive any further information. The last thing that had been heard was the sound of an antique explosive device being triggered. He had wandered through what he called the 'anomaly circuit' for a long while before coming across a strange alligator monster that called itself Dryken. A fierce battle had ensued, during which Dryken had called upon two acquaintances called the Fearcats; but eventually Cryorex had emerged the victor and had almost destroyed them when another anomaly swallowed him up. The next thing he remembered; he was staring at Helen's face in a cave in Angel Grove.

Things had progressed quickly after that. She had met up with her mole an hour or so after the incident in the shopping mall and had 'convinced' him to come with her. Cryorex had been more impressed with him than her and had seen great potential in the man. With his help and connections, they had managed to construct a crude but effective control system for the Raptrids and had even managed to secure an abandoned World War 2 military bunker network that the London government officials had all but forgotten about. He had his reservations about the proposed method of controlling the Future Predators; but the mole had said that it could work and be mass-produced in a matter of months. After that, the mole would have to exit the employment of the hawk-faced man that was his current boss and they would all stroll into the approaching mushroom cloud together.

All those plans now were dangerously close to coming apart at the seams due to the continued survival of both her ex-husband and ex-lover. Cryorex was to have injected the Sarcosuchus with a hormone that would have increased its aggression by a factor of ten and released it in a far away area. The plan would have been that Stephen, the student and the blonde would be killed by the rampaging beast and Nick would be nothing more than a messy snack for Cryorex. The secrets of the Raptrids would have been kept close to her chest and those damned Power Rangers would have stayed well away. How the hell could she have known that Stephen's niece would be visiting him and that she would bring along two of the Power Rangers? It seemed inconceivable for that brat to know one Ranger, let alone two, but she was still learning about all the quirks of the New World. Hearing a step behind her, she glanced at the approaching figure before opening her mouth.

"Well? How is he?"

"I'd think you were showing concern for him…but I know better. Upset that I changed Cryorex's orders?"

Shaking her head, she turned to regard the man with disdain. His suit appeared slightly rumpled and there were scuff marks along the shoulders and sleeves. Seeing the seriousness on her face, the man raised his hands in the universal gesture of surrender before smirking.

"I merely did what I thought necessary. I digress; he is fine. The shock of seeing a monster that is not a dinosaur or prehistoric beast has taken its toll; let alone the monster speaking and knowing his name."

Cryorex shrugged and unsheathed his broadsword. Swinging the massive blade onto the shoulder-plates of his armour, he stared impassively at the man. Seeing the blank look on the futuristic beast, the man shook his head and walked over to Helen.

"What you fail to see are the consequences of every action. Setting up this plan had the consequence of interference by the Power Rangers and that, in turn, has led to Professor Cutter knowing that Cryorex knows his name. I guess it is only a matter of time before he knows that you set all this up."

She seethed with anger but allowed it to pass through her. Of course, he was correct but her desire to begin the plan had temporarily clouded her judgement. Releasing her death grip on the rail in front of her, she forced herself to relax and think things through in a rational manner. The pace needed to slow down to attacks of opportunity during the opening of the anomalies and maybe they would get lucky in the process.

Leek wouldn't let her down.

TBC…


End file.
